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New Day

Melee in St. Louis City Hall; Images of Boko Haram Training Children; U.S. Shining Star of Global Economy

Aired January 29, 2015 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now is Jeff Roorda, the St. Louis police union official who, as you just saw, was involved in that melee. Hopefully cooler heads are prevailing this morning in the light of day. Mr. Rorda, I'm glad you could join me. What happened last night?

JEFF ROORDA, ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICER'S ASSOCIATION BUSINESS MANAGER: Well, Michaela, chaos is what happened. You know, we -- we attended the hearing, about 100 off duty police officers and their supporters outnumbered the anti-police protesters nearly two to one, yet the chairman of the committee, the architect of this supposed civilian oversight board bill, heard from 35 anti-police witnesses before the first police officer was allowed to testify. When he did, and when the two that followed attempted to, he allowed them to be shouted over by the crowd. Insults screamed out as they tried to testify and I'd had enough of it. I wasn't going to put up with it anymore. I told the chairman to restore some order and he didn't take kindly to it.

PEREIRA: I want to get to the push in a second, but wasn't the idea of this to hear from non-police citizens?

ROORDA: Well, no. The idea is to have a civilian oversight board that protects citizens and police officers alike, that fairly and impartially looks into and reviews allegations of police misconduct. We're not against that.

PEREIRA: Okay. So, let's get to the melee. Did you shove the young woman to the ground? Did you push her aside?

ROORDA: No. No.

PEREIRA: So what happened?

ROORDA: Absolutely not. No. I tried to make my way to the - -

PEREIRA: Did you bump into her inadvertently?

ROORDA: No, I tried to get up to the podium. She and other protestors blocked my advance. She -- she started elbowing and pushing and we -- we tried to get our officers out of there as quickly as we could as things just erupted in violence.

PEREIRA: So, Jeff, you know, I have to ask you, though. You know, I heard the sound bite of you addressing the people in the crowd, calling them anti-police radicals. ROORDA: Yes.

PEREIRA: That's a fair amount of rhetoric that is inflammatory in a community that is struggling to find some sort of way to begin to heal from what went on there this past year. You wore --

ROORDA: Right.

PEREIRA: -- an "I am Darren Wilson" bracelet and showed it quite visibly during this, further inflaming tempers. One has to wonder what your intention was going into that meeting. Did you go in with an open heart, open mind, saying, let's find common ground?

ROORDA: My intention was to represent rank and file police officers.

PEREIRA: Okay.

ROORDA: That's my job. That's my duty. Yes, I wear an "I am Darren Wilson" bracelet to work every day. I'm wearing it right now. Darren Wilson was a police officer who was a victim of attempted murder. He defended his life, and he's a hero.

PEREIRA: Darren Wilson was exonerated and he was --

ROORDA: He was.

PEREIRA: -- given due process.

ROORDA: He was.

PEREIRA: So, why wear this into a meeting where you know tempers are bubbling under the surface?

ROORDA: Because I have a right to freedom of speech and expression, just as the violent protesters in Ferguson who attempted to kill and maim police officers every night, they were defended as exercising their right to freedom of speech as they were trying to kill police officers. I think I can wear a bracelet into a public meeting.

PEREIRA: Some violent protestors. It's important to point that out. It's very important to point that out. Here's a question.

ROORDA: Yes.

PEREIRA: Where do we go from here? Because the fact is, you do recognize that this cannot continue this way. We have to have - -

ROORDA: Right.

PEREIRA: -- conversations. We have to have meetings where, if you will, both sides, and I hate the fact that there are two sides to this, where people in the community can come together, and the healing can begin, and we can move forward as a community of Ferguson, as a city, as a state and as a nation.

ROORDA: Well, for instance, Sunday night I attended a prayer vigil put on by the clergy in Ferguson. Over 1,000 people there, friends of mine, of both colors, and no violence, no protests, just a conversation and praying on healing for the community. That's what we need more of, not what we had last night.

PEREIRA: Well, I think we agree on that point absolutely to be sure.

ROORDA: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: Process of healing has to begin. Jeff Roorda, thanks for joining us today.

ROORDA: Thank you.

PEREIRA: We hope you can be a part of that process as well, okay?

ROORDA: You bet.

PEREIRA: All right. Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Okay, Michaela. There are some stunning new images of Boko Haram's rein of terror. Children being trained as soldiers. What can be done to stop this terror group? We'll discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Shocking new images showing Boko Haram terrorists training children to become soldiers. CNN's Diana Magnay is live from Johannesburg, South Africa, with more. Good morning, Diana.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alisyn. Yes, these are two photographs that were tweeted on a relatively new Twitter account which alleges, or purports, to be the official mouth piece of Boko Haram. It's called Alurwa Alwuthqa, which means the most trustworthy grip. And these two photographs show children armed with AK-47s training in a military training camp and they're extremely young. They don't look more, like, than 9 or 10 years old.

Now, we've spoken to intelligence sources about these photographs. They say they have no reason to doubt either the authenticity of this Twitter account or the photographs themselves. And, of course, we know that Boko Haram's, one of their key strategies is to kidnap children. Of course, we can't tell whether these are some of those abducted children or whether they are, indeed, the children of Boko Haram militants themselves. But certainly there they are, child soldiers, in full force.

And it also coincides with what looks like a significant upgrading of Boko Haram's media strategy, perhaps modeling that a little bit on the ISIS' video production. There was another video that they released yesterday of an interview with the supposed Boko Haram military spokesman where the interviewer and the interviewee are both masked, they're blurred. Anyway, it all does appear to be similar to what ISIS is doing in Iraq and Syria, and let's hope that those are simply emulating each other rather than at this stage any closer ties. Michaela, back to you. PEREIRA: All right. Thanks so much.

Here we go with the five things that you need to know for your NEW DAY.

At number one, just one hour now remains before ISIS says it will execute a Jordanian pilot unless his government releases a female terrorist. That threat was issued in an audio message, a new one purportedly from Kenji Goto, another ISIS hostage.

Folks across New England digging out after that blizzard that dumped three feet of snow in some places. Believe it or not, there's another storm, in fact, two perhaps in the forecast.

Malaysian officials have declared the loss of Flight 370 an accident. They are saying now, officially, that all 239 passengers and crew on board are presumed dead. Officials say, though, that the search will, indeed, continue.

Opening statements are set to begin today in the murder trial of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez. Patriot's owner, Bob Kraft, and coach Bill Belichick are both on the prosecution's witness list.

The number of measles cases linked to Disney parks in California is on the rise. 52 cases have been linked to the outbreak, 16 others have been confirmed outside of California.

We do update those five things to know, so be sure to go to NEWDAYCNN.com for the latest.

Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You're going to love this one, Mick. In today's Human Factor, we have a Boston man who is really showing the virtue in fighting for himself and others. He was a quadriplegic. He managed to walk again. So, guess what he's doing now? He's trying to help others do the same. Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctors told Dan Cummings he would never walk again. With each step, the 34-year-old proves them wrong.

DAN CUMMINGS, WALKING QUADRIPLEGIC: You want to motivate me, tell me I can't do something, then do I it.

GUPTA: At 19, Dan was left paralyzed from the chest down after he dove into shallow water.

CUMMINGS: I truly believed, as long as I took one day at a time, that there was going to come a day that I got up and walked again.

GUPTA: He got frustrated after doing three years of traditional physical therapy. CUMMINGS: I felt that I was being taught how to live in my wheelchair,

and I wanted to be taught how to get out of my wheelchair.

GUPTA: Dan moved from Boston to San Diego. He wanted to take part in an intense exercise program for people who suffered spinal cord injuries. Four years later, he walked out the door.

CUMMINGS: That left me with a new mission. I wanted to bring that program here to Boston.

GUPTA: He did just that with the opening of Journey Forward. It's a nonprofit dedicated to helping paralyzed people become more mobile.

CUMMINGS: We're retraining the nervous system, and then hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of repetitions, something clicks and you build off of that. We give our clients the proper tools necessary to get independence. Giving people their life back, quality of life.

GUPTA: Dan's next challenge now is to get insurance companies to cover the $100 an hour cost of therapy. That would allow more patients access to the treatment. He would also like to open even more facilities around the country.

CUMMINGS: Took me seven years before I took my first steps. It's a game of inches. Give it everything you have.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Seven years.

CAMEROTA: Incredible, what perseverance. Just a great story.

PEREIRA: Love it.

CAMEROTA: Yes. All right, thanks so much.

Here's another great story. There's lower gas prices, there's economic progress, there's a soaring dollar. So, why are these seemingly good headlines causing a drop in the stock market and a drag on big companies? We'll discuss all of that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: At this moment, with the growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, booming energy production, we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on earth.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO: Then why has that future seemingly been written in the negative by the stock market and companies? If everything that is supposed to be so good for you as the consumer and the worker is on the way up, what's going on with the stock market? What's going on with these big companies? Let's get some perspective. We have U.S. chairman and senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Bob Moritz. Where is the disconnect, my friend? Help me understand.

ROBERT MORITZ, U.S. CHAIRMAN & SENIOR PARTNER, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPER'S: Sure. I think the president's comments are somewhat spot on, but I think there's an underlying story that hasn't been told yet. I'll go back to our CEO survey. CEO's outside of the U.S. clearly say they want to be investing in the U.S. In fact, it's the highest rated country. It overtook China, which has actually been the number one for the past five years.

CUOMO: Good news.

MORITZ: Great news. But, having said that, CEOs also say that while there's great optimism, 60 percent of them say there's more risks than there were three years ago. Interesting in terms of where we are today relevant to the risk profile and that volatility that people are worried about. And that's the impact on the economy.

CAMEROTA: Why, what are the big risks?

MORITZ: You have a number of different things. You have issues around foreign exchange as you look at economies outside the world. You have the issues of cyber terrorism coming at companies and the like. You've got the issues of social unrest outside of the U.S., that has an impact on the companies inside the U.S. So, you have to be looking at all of these factors as big issues that are on the top of the minds of the consumers, the investors and the CEOs.

PEREIRA: Well, and that's the thing, I can't get away from what the consumers are feeling, because they're looking at the gas prices and feeling pretty confident about that. Oil prices are falling, home heating prices. The economy in terms of jobs, more people are getting back to work, the unemployment rate is down. So, at home, I'm feeling good and then I look at my portfolio and I see what the stock market is doing. Can those two things ever be in synchronicity?

MORITZ: I don't think they will ever be in synchronicity, as you say. I think there's a trailing indicator in terms of what's happened and the stock market has two elements to it. One is the amount of cash that's coming inside looking for stability. The U.S. market is it. So, last year you saw that rise. No surprise on the amount of cash that came in looking for yield. But, it also is very susceptible to all these risks and the headline news, the headline news in terms of what's happening in Russia, or what's happening in the Middle East, or what's happening in France with the terrorism. That's the issue that's out there. So, you'll see a lot of volatility over the next year as, again, this thing becomes a little bit more stabilized and equalized.

CUOMO: But there's always risk.

PEREIRA: Right.

CUOMO: And we know that earnings are at, like, record levels. So, why aren't they paying their workers more money?

MORITZ: I think you have two issues there, Chris. One is when you look at the consumer today, that confidence is up. When you look at the CEO's confidence in terms of running a company in the U.S., it's up. But when you look at the wage force, you have two issues. One is the cost of inflation hasn't driven the need to do that. And second, while unemployment continues to come down, the underlying story is the number of people that are actually in the job market. That slack, that differential between the official statistic and the unofficial in terms of how many are really out there. You still have a larger supply of people that actually are able to work should they be able to choose to hire them.

CAMEROTA: But what happened in just the last month? Why was the stock market gangbusters in November and December, and then in the past few weeks, or even week, we're now seeing it decline?

MORITZ: Look, I think you rode a curve for quite a while on the stock market, but think of the combination of people looking at a slowing economy. And, again, just to give you another stat from our CEO survey, CEOs and ultimately consumers and investors are less confident in the global economy than they were a year ago. So, even though in the U.S. as you say we feel pretty good about where we are, the U.S. is the shining star in a global economy.

As a result, they are very focused on, well, hold on a second. What is really happening in Europe? And now we're getting some more headlines in terms of foreign exchange issues. We're getting some more headlines in terms of Greece. We're getting some more instability out there. The stock market ultimately rises on stability as well as economic growth, and that stability isn't there.

PEREIRA: You were talking about risks, and one of the things that I can imagine unites all CEOs around the globe is concern about cyber security. We report on it all the time. Unfortunately, it seems it's really the threats have been on the uptick, et cetera. So, I'm curious how that plays into bottom lines, right? Because you're having to spend - - it's expensive to protect your systems. But, again, if you don't have the confidence of your consumer --

MORITZ: Yes, good news/bad news, right? So, the CEOs see that confidence of the consumer and they're interested in that. And they're using technology, social media and digital to go after them. Good news, but they're using technology more, and that's why you see, actually, the revenues from the technology companies continue to rise. On the bad news side is the fact that we have to spend more money to sure up the infrastructure to actually deal with that cyber risk. And that risk is becoming ever so increasingly important. It's the number one business risk around the world.

PEREIRA: Well, we've seen some companies get caught with their pants down.

CUOMO: Sure.

MORITZ: Absolutely, and that impacts bottom line as well. And that also leads to another issue is are there enough talented people to actually deal with that issue? When you look at the gap, CEOs have that cyber risk at a high level. When you look at the talent they have to deal with it, not as big. So, you have a big gap out there, which will get to the price and the increase on wages for those that have that expertise.

CUOMO: That's right. If you have skills that are needed, they'll pay you more which goes back to the obvious need to train your workers so they can get these jobs. That comes down to government as well and private business wanting to fund that training, which we haven't seen yet.

Let me ask you something. Oil prices are low. We keep saying it's because the Saudis are holding the price down, there's a supply glut, the demand isn't there. Is there another story, as you say, that isn't being told that, instead of mortgages, the big boy bankers are now wrapping up a lot of their derivatives, their funny money, with oil as an asset and that as price came down, they're unwinding trillions of dollars of these derivatives and that's tanking the market as well?

MORITZ: I'm not sure I see it that clearly, Chris, or make that much of a connection to it. I think when you look at commodities in general, oil clearly has had the wand that's come down in the opposite direction. And all the financial institutions and the, honestly, the institutions outside of that, are playing in that derivatives market to try to hedge that issue, to try to protect themselves against the ups and downs and swings associated with it. So, you have a little bit of that, but I don't think it's actually the driving story. I do think you have a phenomenon right now in terms of the U.S., its energy surplus, when they think about shale and the promise of shale, and then obviously the geopolitical issues. And it's not just the Middle East, do have an issue with Russia, you do have an issue with Venezuela as well. Better play in that game, and it's going to be an interesting one to watch over the next 12 months.

CAMEROTA: Bob Moritz, thanks so much for all of your expertise. Great to have you on NEW DAY.

MORITZ: Happy to be here.

CAMEROTA: We do want to hear from you. What do you think is going on with the economy? Is a stronger dollar good or bad for you? Tweet us @NEWDAY or go to facebook.com/NEWDAY. We'll read your comments

CUOMO: Looks like it depends who you is these days. All right, so, there's no question there's a lot of negativity out there, right? There's also the Good Stuff, and how about a love affair for the ages? One nasty snowstorm and two shovels. What am I talking about?

PEREIRA: Intrigued.

CUOMO: I'm not sure, but the Good Stuff will explain it all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Is this one going to make me weepy?

CUOMO: Oh, yes.

CAMEROTA: Probably. They always do.

CUOMO: That's "A Daisy a Day." It was the favorite song of these two love birds from Wisconsin, Bud Caldwell (ph) and his wife Betty.

(BEGIN VIDEPTAPE)

CUOMO (voice-over): After nearly 60 years of marriage, Bud lost Betty. So, listen to what he did. He bought a local park bench in her memory, and every day he visits that bench and leaves a daisy no matter what.

BUD CALDWELL, BOUGHT BENCH IN MEMORY OF HIS WIFE: Just seemed the natural thing to do. I tried not to let her down, and this is one way I can show that.

CUOMO: So then, if you haven't heard, this huge blizzard came through and blocked his path. How was Betty going to get her daisy? It seemed all was lost until municipal employees Jared and Kevin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We both commented that we just can't have this. We have to make sure he can get to his bench and talk to his wife.

PEREIRA (voice-over): I love them.

CUOMO: They saw Bud there. He didn't even have to shovel. They shoveled out the path by hand and they promised to keep it clear for Bud whenever it snows.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: That's so beautiful.

PEREIRA (on camera): (INAUDIBLE) start crying.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Love it. Gorgeous.

CUOMO (on camera): The Good Stuff. Thank you so much, fellas, for making Bud's day and our day as well. Time for the "NEWROOM" with Ms. Carol Costello. A daisy a day, Carol. A daisy a day.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: What? A daisy a day, I like that. I'll carry that with me throughout the day. Thank you. Have a great day. NEWSROOM starts now.